Scene: A boy is to the left of a scene of several stores. The boy’s talking bubble reads, “At Risky Business, Inc., we sell warnings about things that raise the risk for alcohol problems. Click on the store windows to find all six warnings.”

Each store window links to a screen with information about things that might put a person at risk for an alcohol problem. Store windows are listed in order from left to right.

Store window one: Starting young
The younger you are when you start drinking the higher the chances of developing alcoholism later. More than 4 in 10 people who begin drinking before age 15 become alcoholic at some point in their lives.

Store window two: Having certain personality traits
Some people have the strong urge to act on impulse and to seek new experiences. They have a higher risk of starting to drink early and becoming alcoholic.

Store window three: Having friends who are heavy drinkers
It’s possible to predict how much a person will drink by looking at how much his or her friends drink.

Store window four: Having close family members with alcoholism
This raises your risk, but is not destiny. You can protect yourself from alcohol problems.

Store window five: Higher risk drinking
Once they have begun drinking, people are likely to have alcohol problems if they:
A bulleted list follows
• Drink heavily
• Drink to get drunk
• Drink to escape problems
• Can “hold their liquor”
• Use other drugs as well as alcohol

Store window six: Thinking of alcohol as a positive life experience
Some people count on alcohol to help them feel more friendly, happy, relaxed, or successful. They run the risk of drinking too much and bringing on alcohol problems.